Fender extension



F. P. KAUFMAN FENDER EXTENS ION Filed Dec. 6, 1927 F. P. KAUFMAN IN VEN TOR.

ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 25, 1928,

UNITED. STATES rBANK 1 KAUFMAN, or GRAND ISLAND, NEBRASKA.

FENDER EXTENSION.

Application filed December 6, 1927. Serial No. 238,088.

My invention relates to fender extensions and its primary object is the provision of a finger which is mounted forwardly of the fender for the purpose of straightening out corn plants and for the purpose of clearing away any trash in the path of the fender.

A second object of my invention is the provision of guards between the finger and the fender for preventing the clogging up of the fender with trash.

A third object of my invention is the provision of a connection for the finger and guards such that the attachment may be applied to any cultivator in use on the farm.

Having in view these objects and others which will be pointed out in the following description, I will now refer to the drawings, in which Figure 1 is a view in side elevation ofthe fender andits support with my attachment applied thereto.

Figure 2 is a view in perspective of a pair of fenders equipped with my fender extensions.

Figure 3 is a view in front elevation of a portion of the fender extension showing particularly the ball and socket joint whereby the attachment may be adjusted to any cultivator and showing also the relation of the guards to the finger.

Figure 4 is a view in side elevation of the parts shown in Figure 3.

The finger is designated by the numeral 10. It extends forwardly and downwardly with its tip inclined at a sharper angle in a forward direction. The upper extremity of the finger is provided with a socket member 11" which cooperates with the loose socket member 11, the socket members 11 and 11 being connected by means of a suitable bolt orother fastening device 12. The entire finger member 10 is preferably con structed of steel having suflicient rigidity for dislodging stones and for straightening out small roots without thereby being bent out of shape or otherwise injured.

The fender blades are equipped with supports 14: through which they are secured to the cultivator frame. These supports are inclined at various angles and in various directions. The finger 10 is secured to the support 14 by means of an arm 15 having a ball 16 at its'lower end and by means of clamp 17 which consists of two bars which may be drawn toward each other by means of bolts passing through apertures in the extremities of the parts 17 The ball and socket joint is provided for swinging the arm 15 to any necessary angle for the purpose of making a rigid connection with the support 14. The bin-s17 are of such length that they may be swung through any angle as shown in Figure 1 in order to clamp the bar 15 to the support 16 Secured, to the finger 10 are two guard plates 18. These guard plates are riveted or welded or otherwise very firmly secured at their forward edges to the finger. are each provided with a plurality of' aper- They tures as shown at 19, the apertures being uniformly spaced in all of the guard plates.

Each finger 10 has a pair of guard plates 19 which are adapted to straddle the forward end portion of a fender 13. A single bolt 20 is passed through each'pair of guard plates to serve as an abutment for theforwardedge of the fender. These guard plates have a number of important functions, chiefof which is the fact that they prevent the accumulation of trash between the fingers and the fenders.

In the use of the device the fingers 10 have their lower ends slightly below the surface of the soil and their inclination is gradual so that when they engage a cornstalk they gently and gradually lift it to its upright position so that it cannot be injured by the moving fenders 13. Corn soil frequently contains bits of old cornstalks and other trash from the previous season and these very such trash from moving around to the rear.

of the finger and thus clogging up the space between the finger and the forward edge of I the fender. It is exceedingly important that the connect-ion between the guard plates 18 and the finger 10 be made tight to prevent the entrance of soil or trash into the joint since the fingers occasionally strike resistant obstructions which would otherwise cause the extension to buckle and to separate at the forward edges;

I am aware that other devices'have been provided which were intended for the purpose for which I have designed the above described fender extension. Some of these devices include rigid fenders somewhat similar to the finger 10, but they do not have adjustable securing means, being usually designed for use on only one make of cultivator. The finger alone is unsatisfactory because the trash quickly clogs up the space between the finger and the forward edge of the tender and then drags over the young corn plants. Other devices are designed to accomplish the resultby the use of one guard plate only but it is obvious that the material of which these guard plates are usually made is too soft for use against stones and roots. Such guard plates wear out quickly and they become bent and broken whenever they strike even a slight obstruction. In the prior devices of this kind, only one guard plate is bolted to the side of a tender blade and the trash which is caught in the'joint between the guard plate and the fender plate quickly twists both plates out of shape and it also tends to drag trash over the standing corn. So tar as I am aware, no provision has heretofore been made for combining the finger with a pair of guard plates and no structure has been designed which includes the various adjustments and :other desirable features found in both the finger l0 and the guard plates 1801 my device.

Having thus described my invention in such ful1,'clear, and exact terms that its construction and operation will be readily understood by others skilled in the art to which it pertains, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. An attachment for cultivator tender blades, said attachment including a rigid finger and a link having means for securely engaging the tender support with said finger inclined downwardly and forwardly in front of the fender blade, a. ball and socket joint between said finger and said link, and means for lockingsaid ball and socket joint against movement when said linger and said link are in adjusted position.

2. An attachment for tender blades of cultivators, said attachment including a finger having means for fixedly engaging the tender support with said finger positioned in front of the tender blade and extending forwardly and downwardly, and means on said finger and cooperating with the forward edge otthe fender blade for adjustably spacing said finger from the fender blade.

3. An attachment for tender blades of cultivators, said attachment including a fin er having adjustable means for securely eng ing the tender support and for maintaining said linger in a forwardly and downwardly inclined position forward of the fender blade, a guard plate secured at its forward edge to said finger, and a laterally projecting alnitnien't on said guard plate, said abutment being adapted to cooperate -with the forward edge of the fender blade to maintain said finger inspaced relation to the fender.

l. A device adapted to be attached to a tender blade of a cultivator, said device including a downwardly and forwardly inclined finger having means, at its upper ex- Eremity for securely engaging the support lor the fender, a pair oi spaced guard plates secured to said finger and adapted to straddie the tender blade, and a connection between said two guard plates and adapted to bear against the forward edge of the fender, said connection being adjustable in position for varying the distance between said finger and the tender.

5. A device adapted to be attached to a tender blade of a cultivator, said device in cluding a downwardly and forwardly inclined finger and a link flexibly connected thereto, means on said link for securely engaging the support for the fender, rearwardly projecting guard plates secured at their forward edges to said finger on opposite sides thereoi said guard plates being adapted to straddle the tender and being provided with a plurality of registering apertures, and a bolt adapted to be received in a pair of the registering apertures of said guard plates and. adapted to abut against the torwa rd edge or the fender.

In testimony whereof I aiiix my signature.

FRANK P. KAUFliiAb. 

